TWI700766B - Susceptor position and rotation apparatus and methods of use - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for aligning large susceptors in batch processing chambers are described. Apparatus and methods for controlling the parallelism of a susceptor relative to a gas distribution assembly are also described.

Description

Base positioning and rotating equipment and method of use

The present disclosure generally relates to equipment and methods for positioning and/or rotating base components. More specifically, the embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to an apparatus and method for moving a batch processing base assembly in multiple axes.

Some batch processing chambers have a relatively large diameter base (1 m or larger) to hold a sufficient number of wafers to be processed. The base rotates near (3 mm to 0.5 mm) the injection plate, which is another large diameter disc-like element. The parallelism between these elements is adjusted to control the deposition process. Currently, these components are manually positioned, which takes about three hours. The parallelism changes with the temperature of the base and the pressure of the chamber. Therefore, equipment and methods are required to align and control parallelism to cope with the effects of tight gaps and changing processing parameters.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a base assembly that includes a shaft that can support the base and the positioning system. The positioning system includes a bottom plate, a top plate and at least three actuators. The actuators are positioned between the bottom plate and the top plate and are in contact with the bottom plate and the top plate. Each actuator has a main body and a rod, and the rod has a rod end positioned in the main body. Each rod can be slidably moved along the axis of the main body to move the top sheet closer to or away from the bottom sheet.

Additional embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to processing chambers, the processing chambers including vacuum chambers having a bottom with an opening through the bottom. The base assembly includes a shaft that can support the base and the positioning system. The positioning system includes a bottom plate, a top plate and at least three actuators. The actuators are positioned between the bottom plate and the top plate and are in contact with the bottom plate and the top plate. Each actuator has a main body and a rod, and the rod has a rod end positioned in the main body. Each rod can be slidably moved along the axis of the main body to move the top sheet closer to or away from the bottom sheet. The base assembly is positioned so that the shaft extends through the opening in the bottom of the vacuum chamber. The base is connected to the top of the shaft in the vacuum chamber.

Additional embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to processing chambers, the processing chambers including vacuum chambers having a bottom with an opening through the bottom. The shaft extends through the opening and is supported on the base in the vacuum chamber. The bearing assembly includes a spherical roller bearing that is positioned around the shaft to form a seal between the shaft and the vacuum chamber.

Before describing several exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the details of the configuration or processing steps set forth in the following description. The present disclosure can complete other embodiments, and can be implemented or realized in various ways. The described embodiments and drawings are intended to be used as examples only, and should not be constructed to limit the disclosed equipment or methods.

The "substrate" as used herein refers to any substrate or material surface formed on the substrate, wherein the thin film processing is performed on the substrate during the manufacturing process. For example, the substrate surface on which processing can be performed includes, for example, silicon, silicon oxide, strained silicon, silicon on insulator (SOI), carbon-doped silicon oxide, silicon nitride, Doped silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, glass, sapphire and other materials, as well as any other materials such as metals, metal nitrides, metal alloys, and other conductive materials, depending on the application. The substrate includes, but is not limited to, a semiconductor wafer. The substrate may be exposed to a pretreatment process to grind, etch, reduce, oxidize, hydroxylate, anneal, and/or bake the surface of the substrate. In addition to directly processing the film on the surface of the substrate itself, in this disclosure, any of the disclosed film processing steps can also be performed on the under cladding layer formed on the substrate, as disclosed in more detail below, and "substrate surface The term "" is as indicated in the text, and is intended to include such an underlying layer. Therefore, for example, where the thin film/layer or part of the thin film/layer is deposited on the surface of the substrate, the exposed surface of the newly deposited thin film/layer becomes the surface of the substrate.

According to one or more embodiments, the apparatus and method may be used with atomic layer deposition (ALD) processing. In such an embodiment, the surface of the substrate is sequentially or almost sequentially exposed to the precursor (or reactive gas). As used herein throughout the specification, "almost sequential" means that the duration of most of the precursor exposure does not overlap with the co-reagent exposure, although there may be some overlap. As used in this manual and the accompanying claims, terms such as "precursor", "reactant" and "reactive gas" can be used interchangeably to represent any gaseous species that can react with the substrate surface.

The various embodiments described can be applied to any system type that uses multi-axis dynamics. For descriptive purposes, the embodiment is shown as using a spatial ALD batch processing chamber. Those skilled in the art will understand that the device and method can be adapted for use in other environments or with other processing chambers. For example, time domain ALD processing chamber, chemical vapor deposition chamber.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a batch processing chamber 100. The batch processing chamber includes a gas distribution assembly 120 and a base assembly 140. The gas distribution assembly is also called a syringe or a syringe assembly. The gas distribution assembly 120 is any type of gas delivery device used in the processing chamber. The gas distribution assembly 120 includes a front surface 121 facing the base assembly 140. The front surface 121 may have any number or kind of openings to convey air flow toward the base assembly 140. The gas distribution assembly 120 also includes an outer edge 124, which in the illustrated embodiment is almost rounded.

The specific type of gas distribution assembly 120 used may vary depending on the specific process used. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be used with any type of processing system in which the gap between the base and the gas distribution assembly is controlled. In a binary reaction, the plurality of gas channels may include at least one first reaction gas A channel, at least one second reaction gas B channel, at least one purge gas P channel and/or at least one vacuum V channel. The gas flowing from the first reactive gas A channel, the second reactive gas B channel, and the purge gas P channel is guided toward the top surface of the wafer. Certain air flows move laterally across the surface of the wafer and leave the processing area through the purge gas P channel.

In some embodiments, the gas distribution assembly 120 is a rigid fixed body made of a single syringe unit. In one or more embodiments, the gas distribution assembly 120 is made of a plurality of independent sections (for example, the injector unit 122), as shown in FIG. 2. Either a single-piece body or a multi-section body can be used with the various embodiments described in this disclosure.

The base assembly 140 is positioned below the gas distribution assembly 120. The base assembly 140 includes a top surface 141 and at least one recess 142 in the top surface 141. The base assembly 140 also has a bottom surface 143 and an edge 144. The recess 142 can be any suitable shape and size, depending on the shape and size of the substrate 60 to be processed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the recess 142 has a flat bottom to support the bottom of the wafer; however, the bottom of the recess may vary. In some embodiments, the recess has a step area around the peripheral edge of the recess, and the step area is sized to support the peripheral edge of the wafer. The amount of the peripheral edge of the wafer supported by the step can be changed, depending on, for example, the thickness of the wafer and the presence of features already present on the backside of the wafer.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the recesses 142 in the top surface 141 of the base assembly 140 are sized such that the recesses 142 in the substrate 60 have a top surface 61 that is the same as the top surface of the base 140 141 is almost coplanar. As used in this manual and the accompanying requirements, the term "almost coplanar" means that the top surface of the wafer and the top surface of the base assembly are within ±0.5 mm, ±0.4 mm, ±0.3 mm, ± Coplanar within 0.25 mm, ±0.2 mm, ±0.15 mm, ±0.10 mm, or ±0.05 mm.

The base assembly 140 of FIG. 1 includes a shaft 160 that can raise, lower, and rotate the base assembly 140. The base assembly may include a heater, or gas pipeline, or electronic components in the center of the shaft 160. The shaft 160 may be the main means to increase or decrease the gap between the base assembly 140 and the gas distribution assembly 120 to move the base assembly 140 to a proper position. The base assembly 140 may also include a fine adjustment actuator 162 that can finely adjust the base assembly 140 to create a predetermined gap 170 between the base assembly 140 and the gas distribution assembly 120. In some embodiments, the distance of the gap 170 is in the range of about 0.1 mm to about 5.0 mm, or in the range of about 0.1 mm to about 3.0 mm, or in the range of about 0.1 mm to about 2.0 mm, or In the range of about 0.2 mm to about 1.8 mm, or in the range of about 0.3 mm to about 1.7 mm, or in the range of about 0.4 mm to about 1.6 mm, or in the range of about 0.5 mm to about 1.5 mm , Or in the range of about 0.6 mm to about 1.4 mm, or in the range of about 0.7 mm to about 1.3 mm, or in the range of about 0.8 mm to about 1.2 mm, or in the range of about 0.9 mm to about 1.1 mm Within the range, or about 1 mm.

The processing chamber 100 shown in the figure is a carousel type chamber, in which the base assembly 140 can hold a plurality of substrates 60. As shown in FIG. 2, the gas distribution assembly 120 may include a plurality of separate injector units 122, and each injector unit 122 can deposit a thin film on the wafer as the wafer moves under the injector unit. The two sector injector units 122 are shown approximately positioned on opposite sides and above the base assembly 140. This number of syringe units 122 is shown for illustrative purposes only. It should be understood that more or fewer syringe units 122 may be included. In some embodiments, there are a sufficient number of sector-shaped syringe units 122 to form a shape conforming to the shape of the base assembly 140. In some embodiments, each independent sector injector unit 122 can be independently moved, removed, and/or replaced without affecting any other injector units 122. For example, a section may be raised to allow the robot to enter and exit the area between the base assembly 140 and the gas distribution assembly 120 to load/unload the substrate 60.

A processing chamber with multiple gas injectors can be used to process multiple wafers simultaneously so that the wafers undergo the same processing flow. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the processing chamber 100 has four gas injector assemblies and four substrates 60. At the beginning of the process, the substrate 60 may be positioned between the syringe assemblies 30. Rotating the 17 base assembly 140 45 degrees will cause each substrate 60 between the gas distribution assemblies 120 to move to the gas distribution assembly 120 for film deposition, as shown by the dotted circle under the gas distribution assembly 120. The additional 45 degree rotation will move the base plate 60 away from the syringe assembly 30. With the spatial ALD injector, a thin film is deposited on the wafer during the movement of the wafer relative to the injector assembly. In some embodiments, the base assembly 140 rotates in increments, which prevents the substrate 60 from stopping under the gas distribution assembly 120. The number of the substrate 60 and the gas distribution assembly 120 may be the same or different. In some embodiments, the wafers being processed have the same number of gas distribution components. In one or more embodiments, the number of wafers processed is a fraction or integer multiple of the gas distribution assembly. For example, if there are four gas distribution components, 4x wafers are processed, where x is an integer value greater than or equal to one.

The processing chamber 100 shown in FIG. 3 only represents one possible configuration, and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Here, the processing chamber 100 includes a plurality of gas distribution components 120. In the illustrated embodiment, there are four gas distribution assemblies (also referred to as injector assemblies 30), which are equally spaced around the processing chamber 100. The processing chamber 100 shown is octagonal, however, those skilled in the art will understand that this is a possible shape and should not be considered as limiting the scope of this disclosure. The gas distribution assembly 120 shown is trapezoidal, but the gas distribution assembly can be a single circular element or composed of a plurality of sector-shaped segments, as shown in FIG. 2.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 includes a load lock chamber 180, or an auxiliary chamber like a buffer station. This chamber 180 is connected to the side of the processing chamber 100 to allow, for example, substrates (also referred to as substrates 60) to be loaded/unloaded from the chamber 100. The wafer robot may be positioned in the chamber 180 to move the substrate onto the susceptor.

The rotation of the rotating rack (for example, the base assembly 140) may be continuous or discontinuous. In continuous processing, the wafers are continuously rotated so that the wafers are sequentially exposed to each injector. In a discontinuous process, the wafer can be moved to the injector area and stopped, and then moved to the area 84 between the injectors and stopped. For example, the rotating rack can be rotated so that the wafer moves from between the injector areas, past the injector (or stopped next to the injector), and moved between the next injector area where the rotating rack can stop again. The pause between injectors can provide time for additional processing steps (eg, exposure to plasma) between the deposition of each layer.

FIG. 4 shows a section or part of the gas distribution assembly 220 that can be referred to as the injector unit 112. The syringe unit 122 can be used alone or in combination with other syringe units. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the four injector units 122 of FIG. 4 are combined to form a single gas distribution assembly 220. (For clarity, the lines separating the four syringe units are not shown). Although the injector unit 122 of FIG. 4 has both the first reaction gas port 125 and the second reaction gas port 135, and additionally has a purge gas port 155 and a vacuum port 145, the injector unit 122 does not require all these components.

Referring to both FIGS. 4 and 5, the gas distribution assembly 220 according to one or more embodiments may include a plurality of sections (or injector units 122), where each section is the same or different. The gas distribution assembly 220 is positioned in the processing chamber and includes a plurality of extended gas ports 125, 135, 155 and a vacuum port 145 in the front surface 121 of the gas distribution assembly 220. The plurality of extended gas ports 125, 135, 155 and the vacuum port 145 extend from the area adjacent to the inner peripheral edge 123 toward the area adjacent to the peripheral edge 124 of the gas distribution assembly 220. The plurality of gas ports shown include a first reaction gas port 125, a second reaction gas port 135, and a vacuum port 145. The vacuum port surrounds each of the first reaction gas port and the second reaction gas port, and the purge gas port 155 .

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, when it is described that the ports extend from at least about the inner circumference area to at least about the outer circumference area, however, the ports may not only extend radially from the inner circumference area to the outer circumference area. . The ports may extend tangentially as the vacuum port 145 surrounds the reactive gas port 125 and the reactive gas port 135. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wedge-shaped reaction gas ports 125 and 135 are surrounded by the vacuum port 145 on all edges, including adjacent inner and outer regions.

Referring to FIG. 4, as the substrate moves along the path 127, each part of the surface of the substrate is exposed to various reactive gases. In order to follow path 127, the substrate will be exposed to, or "see", purge gas port 155, vacuum port 145, first reactive gas port 125, vacuum port 145, purge gas port 155, vacuum port 145, second reactive gas Port 135 and vacuum port 145. Therefore, at the end of the path 127 shown in FIG. 4, the substrate is exposed to the gas flow from the first reaction gas port 125 and the second reaction gas port 135 to form a layer. The shown syringe unit 122 produces a quarter circle, but it can be larger or smaller. The gas distribution assembly 220 shown in FIG. 5 can be regarded as a series connection combination of the four syringe units 122 of FIG. 4.

The injector unit 122 of FIG. 4 shows a gas curtain 150 that separates the reaction gas. The term "gas curtain" is used to describe any combination of gas flow or vacuum that separates the reaction gases to prevent mixing. The gas curtain 150 shown in FIG. 4 includes a part of the vacuum port 145 beside the first reaction gas port 125, a purge gas port 155 in the middle, and a part of the vacuum port 145 beside the second reaction gas port 135. This combination of gas flow and vacuum can be used to prevent or minimize the gas phase reaction of the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas.

Referring to FIG. 5, the combination of gas flow and vacuum from the gas distribution assembly 220 will separate to form a plurality of processing areas 250. The processing area is roughly defined by the gas curtain 150 between 250 around the independent reaction gas ports 125, 135. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 utilizes eight separated gas curtains 150 between the processing regions to form eight separated processing regions 250. The processing chamber may have at least two processing areas. In some embodiments, there are at least three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, or 12 processing areas.

During processing, the substrate may be exposed to more than one processing area 250 at any given time. However, the parts exposed to different treatment areas will have a gas curtain separating the two. For example, if the front edge of the substrate enters the processing area containing the second reactive gas port 135, the middle portion of the substrate will be located under the gas curtain 150, and the rear edge of the substrate will be located in the processing area containing the first reactive gas port 125 in.

For example, the factory interface 280, which may be a load lock chamber, is shown as connected to the processing chamber 100. The base plate 60 is shown as being superimposed above the gas distribution assembly 220 to provide a frame of reference. The base plate 60 may often sit on the base assembly to be held near the front surface 121 of the gas distribution assembly 120 (also referred to as the gas distribution plate). The substrate 60 is loaded on the substrate support or base assembly in the processing chamber 100 through the factory interface 280 (see FIG. 3). The substrate 60 may be shown as being positioned within the processing area because it is located beside the first reactive gas port 125 and between the two gas curtains 150a, 150b. Rotating the substrate 60 along the path 127 will cause the substrate to move counterclockwise around the processing chamber 100. Therefore, the substrate 60 will be exposed to the first processing area 250a through the eighth processing area 250h, including all processing areas in between. For each cycle around the processing chamber, using the gas distribution assembly shown, the substrate 60 will be exposed to four ALD cycles of the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas.

A precision linear positioning system with four motion axes can be used to position the base near the gas injector. This can be seen in Figure 6. The positioning system can be constructed using a bottom plate, the bottom plate having three equally spaced linear actuators, and the linear actuators are firmly installed perpendicular to the surface of the bottom plate. Each actuator can provide precise vertical movement and is coupled to the top plate with a 4-degree-of-freedom (4-DOF) joint. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the 4-DOF joint may include a spherical rod in the bearing connected to the linear bearing. In some embodiments, the 4-DOF joint includes a kinematic coupling feature (see Figure 9) that provides pitch, yaw, roll, and one aligned with the center of the top sheet Linear degrees of freedom. The rotation of the base can be integrated into the top plate for processing and adding a fourth axis of movement. In one or more embodiments, the system provides position repeatability of less than 0.005 inches.

Figure 6 shows a processing chamber incorporating a base assembly according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The base assembly 340 includes a shaft 160 that can support the base 341. The base 340 is shown as a flat plate, but may also include recesses or pockets similar to those shown in FIG. 2.

Referring back to FIG. 6, the positioning system 300 communicates with the shaft 160 to move the base 341. As used in this regard, the term "connected" means that at least one element can affect the position of another element, or directly or indirectly contact another element. The positioning system 300 of some embodiments can move the base 341 along the z-axis (that is, up and down in the drawing), along the x-axis or the y-axis, so that the base 341 is relative to the gas distribution assembly 320 tilt.

The positioning system 300 in FIG. 6 includes a bottom plate 301, a top plate 302 and at least three actuators 310. Each actuator 310 is positioned between the bottom plate 301 and the top plate 302 and is in contact with the bottom plate and the top plate. Each actuator 310 has a main body 311 and a rod 312 with a rod end 313 that can move within the main body 311. Each rod 312 can slide within the main body so that the length of the rod extending from the main body can be varied. Therefore, the rod 312 can move along the axis of the main body 311 to move the top plate 302 closer to or away from the bottom plate 301. The movement of the base 341 close to or away from the gas distribution assembly 320 used herein is referred to as movement along the z-axis.

The embodiment shown in Figure 6 includes a V-shaped block 316 with each actuator in contact with the V-shaped block. 8A and 8B show enlarged views of the V-shaped block 316. The groove 317 in the V-shaped block 316 is aligned radially with respect to the center of the top plate 302. As used in this regard, the "center" of the top plate 302 refers to the center of motion relative to the actuator and shaft. The shape of the top sheet may be concentric around the center, or may be irregular. The radial alignment with the center of movement allows the end 313 of the rod 312 to slide toward and away from the center along a length that is defined along the groove 317 of the V-shaped block.

In some embodiments, the V-shaped block 316 further includes an end plate 318 which is positioned at either end or both ends of the V-shaped block 316. The V-shaped block 316 may be positioned so that the end plate 318 is located at the outer end of the V-shaped block 316 so that the end 313 of the rod 312 cannot extend farther from the center than the end plate 318.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is supported by gravity so that there is no mechanical connection between the end 313 of the rod 312 and the top plate 302. In some embodiments, there is a mechanical connection between the bottom plate 301 and the top plate 302. For example, FIGS. 8A and 8B show a mechanically connected system in which each actuator 310 is in contact with a linear bearing 379. FIG. 8A shows a front view of the actuator 310 in which the rod 312 extends from the top of the main body 311. In the embodiment shown, the rod end 313 has a spherical bearing 374 to connect with the socket 375. The term "spherical" in this respect means that the end of the rod has convex sides and does not mean a perfect sphere. The purpose of the convex side of the spherical bearing 374 is to cooperate with the concave portion 376 of the socket 375. The cooperative interaction of the spherical bearing 374 and the socket 375 allows the alignment of the bearing and socket to change the angle as the rod 312 moves. The socket 375 has a bracket 377 with a passage 378 passing through the bracket. Fig. 8B shows a side view of the actuator of Fig. 8A. The channel 378 of the bracket 377 can interact cooperatively with the linear bearing 379. Just like the V-shaped block 316 in FIG. 6, the linear bearing 379 can be connected to the top plate 302 or integrally formed with the top plate 302. The linear bearing 379 may be radially aligned with respect to the center of movement of the top plate 302. The movement of the rod 312 will cause the top plate 302 to tilt and cause the bracket 377 to slide along the length of the linear bearing 379 (ie, the extension shaft). Without being bound by any particular theory of operation, it is believed that allowing the rod end 313 to slide along any of the V-shaped block 316, linear bearing 379, or other bearing type components will minimize the stress on the components. The bearings of some embodiments allow sufficient range of motion and provide positive retention of the support element to allow the element to be reversed without disengaging (raising away from the V-block).

The combined movement and position of each actuator provides precise pitch, roll, and z movements to position the base in this embodiment. This movement can align the base to the syringe assembly with very strict tolerances, depending on the resolution/precision of the motion actuator used. In some embodiments, this movement can align the base and syringe assembly to less than about 0.05, 0.045, 0.04, 0.035, 0.03, 0.025, 0.02, 0.015, 0.01, or 0.005 inches. The movement provided by the positioning system 300 allows the vertical actuator arrangement to be integrated into the vacuum chamber with bellows or lip seals. In the conventional system, it is difficult to design the vacuum feedthrough due to the hinged actuator on the bottom plate, and the entire actuator shaft moves in multiple directions.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the positioning system 300 may be located outside the vacuum chamber 101. Here, the bottom of the vacuum chamber 101 has an opening 102 passing therethrough. The shaft 160 passes through the opening 102, is supported on the base 341 in the vacuum chamber 101, and communicates or connects with the top plate 302 of the positioning system 300.

In order to maintain an airtight seal of the vacuum chamber 101, a bellows 382 may be included. The bellows 382 of FIG. 6 connects or contacts the top plate 302 and the vacuum chamber 101. The movement of the shaft 160 along the z-axis causes the bellows 382 to expand or contract without breaking the vacuum in the vacuum chamber 101. Although a bellows is shown, those skilled in the art will understand that other sealing mechanisms can be used. For example, a lip seal, a magnetic coupling or any other method of sealing a linear motion shaft in a vacuum.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment in which the positioning system is located in the vacuum chamber 101. Here, the shaft 160 extends through the top plate 302 and the bottom plate 301 of the positioning system 300. The positioning system 300 may be completely located in the vacuum chamber or partially located in the vacuum chamber. The bellows 382 is shown below the bottom plate 301 in FIG. 9 to illustrate that part of the system 300 can pass through the opening in the vacuum chamber 101 while maintaining an airtight seal. The embodiment shown in FIG. 9 includes an actuator seal 319 under the bottom plate 301. The actuator seal 319 can provide enough space for the actuator to move while maintaining an airtight seal.

Fig. 10 shows another embodiment of a precision linear positioning system 400, which has four motion axes, which can be used, for example, to place the base near the gas injection sheet. The system can be constructed using spherical roller bearings 390 attached to the vacuum chamber 101. The roller bearing 390 may be a mechanical bearing or an air bearing. The roller bearing 390 provides bearing support for rotation about the z-axis, rotation about the x-axis, and rotation about the y-axis. The bellows 382, also known as bellows seals, can be included under the roller bearing 390 to provide a barrier between the processing environment and the atmosphere, while allowing the rotating lip seal to rotate about the x, y, and z axes. In some embodiments, a stepped vacuum lip seal (not shown) under the bellows provides a vacuum isolation barrier for rotational movement about the z-axis (theta rotation). A rotary motor (also known as theta motor 355) can be attached to the frame 410 of the positioning system 400 to integrate with the lip seal and provide mounting points for the x, y, and z steps 420, which support and actuate the load. The frame 410 with theta motor 355/lip seal can be attached to the x, y and z steps 420 to provide precise movement for aligning the base 341 to the syringe plate.

The theta motor 355 shown in FIGS. 6, 9 and 10 rotates the shaft 160 to rotate the base 341. The Theta motor 355 can be any suitable motor that can rotate heavy components accurately and consistently.

The frame 410 shown in FIG. 10 includes a top plate 302 and a bottom plate 301. The top plate and the bottom plate are connected by a plurality of support rods 411. The distance between the top plate 302 and the bottom plate 301 can be any suitable distance, depending on the size of the components located between them. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the minimum distance between the top plate 302 and the bottom plate 301 is the amount of space occupied by the theta motor 355.

The step 420 shown is composed of a combination of an x-axis motor, a y-axis motor, and a z-axis motor. The movement of the x-axis can be accomplished using an x-axis track 421, which has a slidable platform 422 thereon. The platform 422 can move along the length of the x-axis track 421 to tilt the base. The point where the shaft 160 passes through the opening 102 in the vacuum chamber 101 serves as an almost fixed point such that the movement of the platform 422 causes the base to pivot about the opening position. The y-axis movement can be accomplished using the y-axis track 424, which has a slidable platform 426 thereon. The platform 426 can move along the length of the y-axis track 424 to tilt the base in an axis perpendicular to the x-axis. The z-axis movement can be accomplished using a z-axis motor 428 connected to an actuator 429, which moves along the z-axis. The actuator 429 may be mechanically connected to the frame 410 using a plate similar to that shown in FIG. 10. In some embodiments, the actuator 429 engages the frame 410 through frictional interaction without a mechanical anchor. The steps 420 may have stacked linear tracks similar to those shown or other shapes, including but not limited to arc-shaped tracks. The step 420 may be other types of multi-axis components, including but not limited to a tripod and a hexapod.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure incorporate vacuum isolation and 4-DOF movement of the base. Movement includes rotation around the x-axis, rotation around the y-axis, transfer in the z-axis, and rotation around the z-axis. The steps of some embodiments are positioned to handle the load at the bottom of the stent stack almost perpendicular to the load. Thus, some embodiments provide bearing support, motion, and vacuum isolation in a single element that can be easily separated for simple and reliable integration.

Referring to FIG. 11, some embodiments include a bellows 382 and a bearing assembly 440 between the vacuum chamber 101. The bearing assembly shown includes a lip seal 442 (or a stepped vacuum), a bellows 382 connected to the lip seal 442, and a connecting plate 444 between the bellows 382 and the vacuum chamber 101. The bearing assembly 440 creates a vacuum seal between the internal volume of the vacuum chamber 101 and the atmosphere. The area 445 may be under the same or a different pressure as the vacuum chamber 101 and may contain a stepped vacuum to ensure that any leakage will not affect the vacuum chamber 101.

The bearing assembly 440 shown includes a spherical roller bearing 450 positioned around the shaft 160 and forming a seal between the shaft 160 and the vacuum chamber 101. The spherical roller bearing 450 is positioned at the opening 102 of the vacuum chamber 101. The spherical roller bearing 450 has two main elements; an inner ring 452 and an outer ring 454. When the shaft 160 rotates around the z-axis, the inner ring 452 also rotates. The amount of rotation relative to the shaft 160 may be any one from a complete stop (ie, no rotation) or up to the shaft rotation speed, depending on the type of the inner ring 452. In some embodiments, the inner ring 452 rotates at the same speed as the shaft 160. The outer ring 454 remains fixed in position and allows the inner ring 452 to rotate in the x-y plane, that is, around the z axis. In addition, the outer ring 454 may allow the inner ring 452 to rotate in the xz and yz planes as the base (not shown) is tilted to allow the shaft 160 to pass through the outer ring 454 in a direction that is not perpendicular to the main plane of the outer ring 454 . FIG. 12A shows a partial view of the spherical roller bearing 450 in which the shaft extends perpendicular to the plane of the outer ring 454. FIG. 12B shows a partial view of a spherical roller bearing 450 that is inclined in the x-z plane so that the shaft 160 is no longer perpendicular to the plane of the outer ring 454. Cross-hatching is used to depict different components, and does not necessarily represent the materials that make up individual components. For example, the inner ring, outer ring, and shaft can all be made of aluminum, or each element can be of different materials. The outer ring 454 shown is positioned in the gap 456 of the connecting plate 444. The gap 456 can be sized to firmly hold the outer ring and prevent or reduce gas leakage between the area 445 and the internal volume of the vacuum chamber 101.

In some embodiments, the lip seal 442 is located at a fixed position on the shaft 160 such that when the shaft rises or falls, the lip seal 442 and the shaft 160 move along the z-axis. The bellows 382 expands and contracts to maintain the vacuum seal between the bottom of the vacuum chamber 101 and the lip seal 442. The lip seal 442 allows the shaft 160 to rotate about the z axis.

Figure 13 shows another spherical roller bearing 450 in which both the inner ring 452 and the outer ring 454 are semicircular rather than flat. Similar to other spherical roller bearings, the inclination of the inner ring 452 in the outer ring 454 is variable, depending on the shape and size of the inner ring and the outer ring. In the embodiment of FIG. 13, the amount of tilt that can be applied to the shaft 160 depends on the size of the opening 458 in the outer ring.

Suitable roller bearings include, but are not limited to, mechanical bearings, air bearings, bearings that support rotation around the x, y, and z axes and transfer along the z axis. A stepped vacuum or lip seal can be used between the inner ring 452 and the outer ring 454, and between the inner ring 452 and the shaft 160. This can provide a vacuum barrier while still allowing rotation.

References throughout this specification to "one embodiment", "certain embodiments", "one or more implementations" or "an embodiment" mean specific features, structures, materials, or The characteristics are included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, terms such as "in one or more embodiments", "in some embodiments", "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" appear in various places throughout this specification It does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner.

Although the disclosure herein has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood that these embodiments only illustrate the principles and applications of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can clearly observe that various modifications and changes can be made to the method and equipment of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is intended that this disclosure includes modifications and changes within the scope of the accompanying claims and their equivalents.

17‧‧‧Rotate 60‧‧‧Substrate 61‧‧‧Top surface 84‧‧‧area 100‧‧‧Processing chamber 101‧‧‧Vacuum chamber 102‧‧‧Open 120‧‧‧Gas distribution assembly 121‧‧‧Front surface 122‧‧‧Syringe unit 123‧‧‧Inner edge 124‧‧‧Outer edge 125‧‧‧First reactant gas port 127‧‧‧path 135‧‧‧Second reaction gas port 140‧‧‧Base Assembly 141‧‧‧Top surface 142‧‧‧Recess 143‧‧‧Bottom surface 144‧‧‧Edge 145‧‧‧Vacuum port 150‧‧‧Gas curtain 155‧‧‧Purge gas port 160‧‧‧Shaft 162‧‧‧Actuator 170‧‧‧Gap 180‧‧‧Load lock chamber 250‧‧‧Processing area 250a‧‧‧treatment area 250b‧‧‧Processing area 250c‧‧‧Processing area 250d‧‧‧treatment area 250e‧‧‧Processing area 250f‧‧‧Processing area 250g‧‧‧treatment area 250h‧‧‧Processing area 280‧‧‧Factory interface 300‧‧‧Positioning System 301‧‧‧Bottom plate 302‧‧‧Top plate 310‧‧‧Actuator 311‧‧‧Main body 312‧‧‧ bar 316‧‧‧V-shaped block 317‧‧‧Slot 318‧‧‧End plate 319‧‧‧Seal 320‧‧‧Gas distribution assembly 340‧‧‧Base Assembly 341‧‧‧Base 355‧‧‧theta motor 374‧‧‧Spherical Bearing 375‧‧‧Socket 376‧‧‧Concave part 377‧‧‧ Bracket 378‧‧‧Channel 379‧‧‧Linear Bearing 382‧‧‧Corrugated pipe 390‧‧‧Spherical roller bearing 400‧‧‧Positioning system 410‧‧‧Frame 411‧‧‧Support Rod 420‧‧‧Step 421‧‧‧x axis track 422‧‧‧Platform 424‧‧‧y-axis track 426‧‧‧Platform 428‧‧‧z axis motor 429‧‧‧Actuator 440‧‧‧Bearing assembly 442‧‧‧Lip Seal 444‧‧‧Connecting plate 445‧‧‧area 450‧‧‧Spherical roller bearing 452‧‧‧Inner ring 454‧‧‧Outer Ring 456‧‧‧Gap 458‧‧‧Open

In order to enable the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure to be understood in detail, the more detailed description of the present disclosure briefly summarized above may refer to the embodiments, some of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings only depict typical embodiments of the present disclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, because the present disclosure may recognize other equally effective embodiments.

Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a batch processing chamber according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 shows a partial perspective view of a batch processing chamber according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a batch processing chamber according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

4 shows a schematic diagram of part of a wedge-shaped gas distribution assembly according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the wedge-shaped gas distribution assembly being used in a batch processing chamber;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a batch processing chamber according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 6 shows a partial perspective view of a batch processing chamber according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a V-shaped block used with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

8A and 8B show linear actuators according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the linear actuators having spherical rod ends;

Figure 9 shows a partial perspective view of a batch processing chamber according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 10 shows a partial perspective view of a batch processing chamber according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 11 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a spherical bearing assembly according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

12A and 12B show partial cross-sectional views of a spherical bearing assembly in use according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 13 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a spherical bearing according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

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101‧‧‧Vacuum chamber

102‧‧‧Open

160‧‧‧Shaft

300‧‧‧Positioning System

301‧‧‧Bottom plate

302‧‧‧Top plate

310‧‧‧Actuator

311‧‧‧Main body

312‧‧‧ bar

316‧‧‧V-shaped block

317‧‧‧Slot

320‧‧‧Gas distribution assembly

340‧‧‧Base Assembly

341‧‧‧Base

355‧‧‧theta motor

382‧‧‧Corrugated pipe

Claims (20)

A base assembly includes: a shaft, which can support a base; and a positioning system, the positioning system includes a bottom plate, a top plate and at least three actuators, the actuations The actuator is positioned between the bottom plate and the top plate and is in contact with the bottom plate and the top plate. Each of the actuators has a main body and a rod, and the rod is positioned in the main body, Each rod can be slidably moved along an axis of the main body to move the top plate closer to or away from the bottom plate, each actuator contacts a V-shaped block on the top plate, and each V-shaped The block has a groove that is radially aligned with a center of the top plate and faces the bottom plate so that one end of the rod can move along a length of the groove. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the V-shaped blocks further includes an end plate, and the end plate is positioned at an outer end point of the V-shaped block with respect to the center of the top plate. Prevent the end of the rod from slipping out of the V-shaped block. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein the shaft extends through the top plate and the bottom plate of the positioning system. A base assembly includes: a shaft, the shaft can support a base; and a positioning system, the positioning system includes a bottom plate, a top Plate and at least three actuators, the actuators are positioned between the bottom plate and the top plate, and are in contact with the bottom plate and the top plate, each of the actuators has a main body and a The rods are positioned in the main body, and each rod can be slidably moved along an axis of the main body to move the top plate closer to or away from the bottom plate, wherein each actuator is connected to the top plate Contact with a linear bearing, and each linear bearing is radially aligned with a center of the top plate. The base assembly according to claim 4, wherein one end of the rod of the actuators has a spherical bearing to connect with a socket on the linear bearing. A processing chamber includes: a vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber has a bottom, the bottom has an opening therethrough; a base assembly, the base assembly has a shaft and a positioning system, the shaft It can support a base. The positioning system includes a bottom plate, a top plate, and at least three actuators. The actuators are positioned between the bottom plate and the top plate and are connected to the bottom plate and the top plate. In contact with the plate, each of the actuators has a main body and a rod, the rod is positioned in the main body, and each rod can be slidably moved along an axis of the main body to move the top plate closer or Away from the bottom plate, the base assembly is positioned so that the shaft extends Through the opening in the bottom of the vacuum chamber, each actuator is in contact with a V-shaped block on the top plate, and each V-shaped block has a groove relative to a central diameter of the top plate. Aligning and facing the bottom plate so that one end of the rod can move along a length of the groove; and a base connected to a top of the shaft in the vacuum chamber. The processing chamber according to claim 6, further comprising a bellows that connects the top sheet to the vacuum chamber to form an airtight seal. The processing chamber according to claim 7, further comprising a bearing assembly between the bellows and the vacuum chamber. The processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein the bearing assembly includes a spherical roller bearing positioned around the shaft and forming a seal between the shaft and the vacuum chamber. The processing chamber according to claim 6, further comprising a theta motor to rotate the shaft. The base assembly according to claim 6, wherein each of the V-shaped blocks further includes an end plate, and the end plate is positioned at an outer end point of the V-shaped block with respect to the center of the top plate. Prevent the end of the rod from slipping out of the V-shaped block. A processing chamber includes: A vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber having a bottom with an opening therethrough; the base assembly according to claim 1, the base assembly is positioned in the vacuum chamber; and a base, The base is connected to a top of the shaft in the vacuum chamber. The processing chamber according to claim 12, further comprising a bellows that connects the bottom plate to the vacuum chamber to form an airtight seal. A processing chamber includes: a vacuum chamber having a bottom with an opening passing therethrough; a shaft extending through the opening, the shaft supporting in the vacuum chamber A base; and a bearing assembly, the bearing assembly includes a spherical roller bearing, the spherical roller bearing is positioned around the shaft to form a seal between the shaft and the vacuum chamber. The processing chamber according to claim 14, wherein the bearing assembly further includes a bellows and a lip seal, and the bellows connects the lip seal to the bottom of the vacuum chamber to form an airtight connection. The processing chamber according to claim 15, wherein when When the base is raised or lowered, the lip seal moves along a z-axis and the shaft, so that the bellows expands or contracts to maintain a vacuum seal. The processing chamber according to claim 14, further comprising a positioning system including a bottom plate, a top plate and at least three actuators, the actuators being positioned on the bottom plate and the top plate Between and in contact with the bottom plate and the top plate, each of the actuators has a main body and a rod, the rod has a rod end, the rod end is positioned in the main body, and each rod can be along A shaft of the main body is slidably moved to move the top plate closer to or away from the bottom plate. The processing chamber according to claim 14, further comprising a step communicating with the shaft, the step providing movement along an x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis to raise and lower the base obliquely . The processing chamber according to claim 18, further comprising a shower head positioned in the vacuum chamber and separated from a top surface of the base. The processing chamber of claim 19, wherein the step is configured to align the base and the shower head to less than about 0.005 inches.

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